in languor dreams of death
by auroracode
Summary: There were a lot of things in life that Dazai would never admit out loud, and one of them was just how much Corruption terrified him.


There were a lot of things in life that Dazai would never admit out loud, and one of them was just how much Corruption terrified him. He wasn't scared of it for the same reason that most people probably would be, thanks to his ability he had no need to worry about Chuuya's ability harming him, no what scared him was the way Chuuya changed when using Corruption.

The fact that Chuuya was an incredibly important person to him was another fact that Dazai would never admit out loud; the two of them had gotten off to a rough start and Dazai was well aware he'd done many things that had hurt Chuuya, yet despite that the two of them had managed to build a strong bond. It was a different type of bond than the one Dazai had shared with Odasaku, Oda had been a sturdy port in the middle of a storm, a medley of warm and gentle colors, a beacon of safety; he'd been Dazai's best friend and a teacher of sorts.

Things with Chuuya, on the other hand, had been much more volatile; he was all vibrant colors and burning passion, everything he had he'd fought to obtain and keep, teeth bared and claws sharp. He valued straightforwardness and hated manipulation and trickery, yet ofttimes kept his own feelings and intelligence hidden behind a mask of insults, bluster, and impulsiveness. Above all, he was loyal to a fault and so very human, an irony that wasn't lost on anyone in the know about his origins.

All in all he and Dazai were polar opposites, and yet, in the end, they were both children who'd been forced to become adults way too soon, only able to ever act their real age with each other. Just two lost boys who'd managed to find a home and family in each other.

And yet, whenever Chuuya activated Corruption, that vibrant boy disappeared. All of his fire and personality gone in a matter of moments, replaced by nothing but an endless abyss of rage and destruction. When in his corrupted state, Chuuya had no friends or allies, he would focus on the last task Chuuya had thought of before activating his power and then, once that was done he'd turn his rage on whatever else was around him. If you were unlucky enough to get in his path….

Well, there was a good reason Double Black was so feared by the Mafia's enemies.

Dazai remembered all too well the first time Corruption had been activated, it had only been a few months since they'd been partnered together and the two of them had been taking down a small organization that had been encroaching on Mafia territory. Or well, Chuuya had been taking them down while Dazai had been playing on his handheld and returning Chuuya's insults with snide remarks. Ever since the debacle with the Sheep, Mori had been much quicker to shut down any new groups that popped up in the Mafia's territory; most of them were unlikely to ever get strong enough to pose a threat, but that was also what they'd once thought about the Sheep.

The night had been going well, the organization was pathetically weak and Chuuya was easily dominating the scene, leaving the grunts they'd brought as backup with little to do but watch. Then the ability user had shown up and everything began to fall apart.

According to the information they had on the group, there weren't any ability users among them, and yet there one was tossing around bolts of electricity like an oversized battery charger. It was a bad matchup for Chuuya, gravity had no effect on electricity and the constant barrage of sparks kept the boy from getting close enough to physically attack the man. Unfortunately, the other ability user wasn't having any of the same problems and Dazai couldn't hold back from clicking his tongue in annoyance as a bolt slammed Chuuya into a crate near where he'd been sitting.

While Chuuya shook off the electricity still coursing over his body, their Mafia backup open fire on the enemy, only for each bullet to shot down by a bolt of lightning, the shooters soon being shot down themselves as the ability user turned his attention towards them. Unlike Chuuya, who after a minute or so had managed to shake off the effects of the hit and get up again, none of the men rose. They did however twitch, but Dazai was fairly certain that was due to the electricity running through their bodies and not because any of them were still alive.

Chuuya had stared at the bodies, his face a mixture of horror and anger that Dazai wouldn't truly understand until years later after Odasaku died, his eyes seemed to linger especially one sandy-haired man who Dazai vaguely recalled he'd seen Chuuya hanging out with before. What had been his name again? Nishi? Nishiki? Something like that, Dazai didn't really remember, he only remembered the man's face because he'd been very loud in his determination to be Chuuya's friend. Not that that would be happening now.

"You…" It was the deep guttural growl in Chuuya's voice as he spoke that had torn Dazai's attention away from thoughts of dead bodies and foolish attempts at friendship. Turning his gaze back to the boy his eyes widened in surprise, a rare occurrence, as a dark red pattern began to crawl it's way up Chuuya's arms and neck and his pupils shrunk to pinpricks. His mouth opened in a feral roar and Dazai watched in fascination as he charged towards the ability user, the ground cracking beneath his feet with each step. For a moment a panic expression appeared on the other man's face, before twisting into a sneer as he shot a bolt of lightning at Chuuya, only for his face to become one of shock as the boy easily dodged it.

Within seconds Chuuya was on the man, or rather the man was on Chuuya as the boy hit with enough force to smash the right half of his torso to pieces, blood and guts splattering everywhere. As he fell to his knees, a scream of pure agony on his lips, a dark orb began to form in Chuuya's hand before being thrust right into his face. The force of whatever it was would have probably sent the corpse flying backwards through the wall if it was for the simple fact that there was no corpse left to go flying, it had been obliterated, along with a good portion of the floor.

"Well, well," Dazai had drawled, clapping softly as he finally stood "Quite the trick you have there, I wonder if Mori knows you've been holding out on us? " There was no response to his taunt, causing Dazai to frown "Ignoring me? That's not very nice Chibi~" He'd pouted, only to stop short as Chuuya lifted his head and let out a terrifying laugh; it wasn't a sound Dazai had ever heard come out of him before and he couldn't stop the fear that gripped his heart for a second.

Chuuya slowly turned towards him, his eyes vacant of any recognition and it became clear to Dazai that whatever was going on, Chuuya was not the one in control. He didn't have any time to dwell on that though as his partner lunged forward, sending a ball of dark energy flying straight at him; there was no time to dodge and so Dazai took a moment to ponder on whether or not death via obliteration would be painless before losing the chance to find out as his ability nullified the attack.

As disappointing as that was it had made one thing clear, whatever was going on with Chuuya was part of his ability, meaning he just needed to touch him to stop it. That was easier said than done of course, even without his ability Chuuya tended to be faster than him, so he'd have to catch him off guard; and the sooner he did so the better considering the blood Dazai could see beginning to drip from Chuuya's mouth and nose. It seemed Chuuya's body was not equipped to handle whatever was happening to him for very long.

Fortunately Chuuya's attention seemed to have drifted from him following his attack, and he now seemed to be focused on destroying as much of his surroundings as possible. Wasting no time Dazai had dashed forward, wrapping his fingers around the back of Chuuya's neck just like he had during their first meeting, and as he did so the marks on his partner's skin slowly receded and he'd collapsed backwards into to Dazai's arms.

"Dazai?" The boy's voice was shaky and questioning, but he wasn't able to get more than a word out before he erupted in a fit of thick wet coughs, blood splattering his lips and dripping down pale skin. For the second time that night Dazai felt a hint of fear as he quickly turned Chuuya on his side so he hopefully wouldn't choke on his own blood, the boy was worryingly pale and his skin was cold and clammy to the touch, his breath coming in harsh wet bursts as his coughing fit died down.

"Oi Chuuya, come on don't make me carry you back to headquarters. You know, for such a tiny thing you weigh a ton, I think you're getting fat." His taunt brought no response from the smaller boy other than a slight fluttering of eyelashes as his eyes started to drift closed. "Chuuya! CHUUYA!" Dazai's voice was panicked as his hand scrambled for Chuuya's neck in search of a pulse, it was slow and threads but it was there, which drew a sigh of relief from his lips.

Reassured that for the moment at least Chuuya was alive, Dazai reached for his cellphone to call for a pickup and a doctor, his mind absently noting that his hands were covered in blood, Chuuya's blood. It seemed like an eternity that he waited there, Chuuya's head resting on his lap, the slight rise and fall of his chest the only evidence he was still alive.

When Mori strolled through the door finally, it was the most realized he had ever been to see the man; he had no idea how desperate he'd sounded over the phone to make Port Mafia's boss himself come down, but judging by the slight widening of the man's eyes, the scene he'd come across was not what he'd been expecting.

The man knelt down next to the two of them, a frown playing on his lips as he reached out to check Chuuya's pulse,

"What happened?" He questioned, and it was only the knowledge that Chuuya would soon be getting medical attention and that it was dangerous to show weakness in front of Mori, that allowed Dazai to compose himself and answer.

Mori hummed thoughtfully as he finished, his eyes lit up with both interest and excitement, whatever his thoughts were on the matter though, he didn't share and Dazai was too tired to try to figure them out at the moment. Mori stood and motioned one of the men he'd brought with him to pick up Chuuya, only too narrow his eyes thoughtfully as Dazai swooped in before them and gathered his partner in his arms.

At that moment though Dazai didn't care what conclusions Mori drew from his actions, all he cared about was the realization that he'd gotten far more attached to the red-haired boy then intended and he didn't plan to leave his side until he was awake and back to annoying him.

In the end, it took a whole week before Chuuya woke, and as much as he hated hospitals Dazai had stuck by his side the whole time, only leaving to eat and shower. Mori had been a frequent visitor as well, at one point commenting that Chuuya was probably only still unconscious because it had been the first time using that power and he'd probably wake up quicker after subsequent uses, which had set off alarm bells in Dazai's head.

Those alarm bells had quickly turned into sirens after Chuuya had woken up and Mori had expressed his intentions to weaponize his ability, which had been dubbed Corruption, for the good of the Mafia. Dazai hadn't missed the flinch and look of fear in Chuuya's eyes at that declaration, and had silently promised the boy that he'd only ever factor it into their plans as a last resort.

There had been nothing he could do about the numerous training sessions Mori required them to have though, all he could do was stand on the sidelines and wait until he needed to turn off Chuuya's ability and carry him to the infirmary. Unlike the first time, he never stayed by Chuuya's bed until he woke up, it would be dangerous for both of them if Mori realized Dazai actually cared about his partner. And hadn't that been a shock for Dazai to realize, that he did care about Chuuya; as infuriatingly annoying as the boy was, he'd brought a sense of variety to his life and while it didn't fill the emptiness in him, it was something he didn't want to lose.

Thankfully it seemed Mori had been correct in assuming Chuuya would wake quicker as his body got used to using Corruption, by the time Chuuya had activated it five times he was down to only about three days of unconsciousness afterward, though of course he still remained stuck in bed drugged up on pain medications for several more days.

Despite all the time spent practicing though, it wasn't until the Dragon's Head Conflict that Corruption was finally purposefully used in a mission. Given that it had been the death of a friend that had caused Chuuya to unlock the power in the first place, Dazai supposed it was only fitting that it was the death of more friends that caused him to choose on his own to use it in a battle for the first time.

Since Chuuya's desire for revenge went along nicely with Dazai's own plans, he had happily stood aside and watched the widespread destruction with fascination, the many times he'd trained Corruption with Chuuya couldn't compare to watching him use it uninhibited. All it had taken was a matter of moments for entire buildings to be demolished and Dazai was left with a sudden understanding of what the destruction of Suribachi City must have been like.

He only let Chuuya rampage for a few minutes before wrapping his fingers around the boy's wrist and canceling out his ability, they didn't want to end up destroying all of Yokohama after all. Scooping his partner's hat up off the ground, he spun it idly on his finger, gazing around at the destruction surrounding them.

"My my, I'd say that's a job well done, wouldn't you Chibi?" He commented, not really expecting a response; it was clear that Chuuya was barely hanging on to conscious. Sighing loudly, Dazai stopped spinning the hat, instead placing it on his own head so his hands were free to pick Chuuya up in a princess carry. "Hmm, maybe we'll get a raise for this?" He muttered to himself, beginning what he considered a far too long walk to find a ride.

As it turned out, not only was a raise in store for both of them, Chuuya had managed to net himself a promotion to Executive thanks to his actions. It was a bittersweet victory, as an Executive Dazai knew Chuuya had finally gained the chance to look through his files and gain much sought after answers about his past, but now that Mori had gotten a definite taste of what the two of them could do together, they would no doubt be sent out on more and more missions together with instructions to use Corruption.

As usual, Dazai's prediction turned out to be correct.

It wasn't all bad though, Chuuya was a fun partner to work with, not that Dazai would ever tell him that, and bugging him often led to funny stories he could tell Oda and Ango. Chuuya's body also seemed to adjust better to using Corruption, he'd still cough up blood and blackout after using it, but his time spent unconscious had greatly decreased and he was usually out of the hospital within a few days. Sometimes he was out even sooner then that if he had his way; of course when Dazai had proudly told him that he was getting almost as good at escaping hospitals as he was, he'd only received a punch to the gut as thanks, which he found rather rude.

Even with the good points though Dazai still couldn't claim to be happy, he still felt empty, but he supposed he was as close to content as he could be until he either found a reason for living or successfully managed to kill himself.

Then Oda had died and everything changed.

Leaving the Mafia was simultaneously harder and easier then Dazai had thought it would be. With Odasaku dead and Ango revealed to be a spy, there wasn't much of anything left to emotionally tie him to the organization. Really only Chuuya was left, and while he'd probably miss the angry little hat rack, it was far to easy for Dazai to come up with reasons for himself why leaving his partner behind was fine. He'd always been good at lying.

Chuuya was happy in the Mafia, he liked it there, he wouldn't want to come along with Dazai even if he asked. Besides they hated each other, they were always fighting, why would he even want him to come along? Chuuya would be better off without him anyway, Mori wouldn't be able to make him use Corruption anymore so he'd be safe and happy while Dazai focused on becoming a good man for Oda's sake.

They say if you repeat a lie enough times it will become true, and while that in itself was certainly a lie, it was easy enough to make yourself think it was true if you kept it up. And so Dazai easily pushed his regrets to the side and left without a backwards glance.

But then Chuuya came down those stairs four years later and suddenly it wasn't so easy to ignore those long pushed aside regrets. Being on the side that saved people had made a difference in Dazai's life and he didn't regret making that choice, but as he slid back into the old pattern of bantering with his former partner, he couldn't help but wonder if he should have given Chuuya the chance to make that choice as well.

Despite having not wanted to join in the first place, Chuuya had slid into the Mafia like a well-oiled gear, his inclusion helped things run smoothly and it was like he'd always belonged there. But was he happy? He should be, if there was anything in the Mafia that would make him unhappy it would be being used as a weapon, and with Dazai not there to make Corruption an option, that couldn't happen.

Still, as he watched his old partner's back disappear out of the dungeon, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd made a mistake.


End file.
